[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 67 (Thursday, April 8, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17913-17915]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-7724]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Western Area Power Administration
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Maintenance and Vegetation Management Along Existing Western Area
Power Administration Transmission Line Rights of Way on National Forest
System Lands, Colorado, Utah, and Nebraska (DOE/EIS-0442)
AGENCIES: Western Area Power Administration, DOE; Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
and to Conduct Scoping Meetings; Notice of Floodplain and Wetlands
Involvement.
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SUMMARY: Western Area Power Administration (Western) proposes to
improve the way it manages vegetation along its rights-of-way (ROW) on
National Forest System lands in the states of Colorado, Utah, and
Nebraska. Implementing the proposal would include modifying existing
United States Forest Service (Forest Service) authorizations or issuing
new authorizations to accommodate Western's vegetation management
proposal and maintenance of the electrical transmission facilities.
Western and the FS will be joint lead agencies in the preparation of an
environmental impact statement (EIS) on the proposal in accordance with
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), U.S. Department
of Energy (DOE) NEPA Implementing Procedures, and the Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for implementing NEPA.
Western's need for agency action is to ensure that it can safely
and reliably operate and maintain its existing electrical transmission
facilities. Western must meet North American Electric Reliability
Corporation's mandatory vegetation management and maintenance standards
(FAC-003-1) in accordance with section 1211 of the Energy Policy Act of
2005 and industry standards. These industry standards are designed to
ensure the safe and reliable operation of the transmission system.
Portions of the proposed Project may affect floodplains and
wetlands, so this Notice of Intent (NOI) also serves as a notice of
proposed floodplain or wetland action, in accordance with DOE
floodplain and wetland environmental review requirements.
DATES: This NOI begins the public scoping period. The public scoping
period will close May 26, 2010. Western and the Forest Service will
consider all electronic and written scoping comments that are received
or postmarked by midnight May 26, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Western and the Forest Service will host public scoping
meetings on Thursday, April 22, 2010, at the Ramada Plaza Denver North,
10 East 120th Avenue, Denver, CO 80233; Friday, April 23, 2010, at the
Museum of Western Colorado, Whitman Educational Center, 248 S. 4th (4th
and Ute), Grand Junction, CO 81501; and Monday, April 26, 2010, at the
Uintah Basin Applied Technology College, 450 N. 2000 W., Vernal, UT
84078. Scoping meetings will be from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The meetings will
provide information to the public and gather comments from the public.
The meetings will be informal, and attendees will be able to speak
directly with Western and FS representatives about the proposal.
Attendees may provide written comments at the public scoping meetings,
or send them to James Hartman, Environmental Manager, Rocky Mountain
Regional Office, Western Area Power Administration, P.O. Box 3700,
Loveland, CO 80539-3003, e-mail: [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the proposal and
the environmental review process, contact James Hartman at the above
address. For general information on DOE's NEPA review process, contact
Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance, GC-
54, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20585-0119, telephone (202) 586-4600 or (800) 472-2756,
facsimile (202) 586-7031. For information on the Forest Service role in
this effort, please contact David Loomis, Regional Environmental
Planner, Rocky Mountain Regional Office, U.S. Forest Service, 740 Simms
St., Golden, CO 80401 (303) 275-5008.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Western is a Federal power marketing agency
within the DOE that markets and delivers Federal wholesale electric
power (principally hydroelectric power)
[[Page 17914]]
to municipalities, rural electric cooperatives, public utilities and
irrigation districts, Federal and State agencies, and Native American
tribes in 15 western and central States. The proposal covers existing
transmission lines located on National Forest System lands in Colorado,
Utah, and Nebraska and operated and maintained by Western's Rocky
Mountain Region. Western proposes to improve the way it manages
vegetation on FS lands in part to ensure compliance with section 1211
of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the subsequent changes in industry
standards for vegetation management to control the costs of vegetation
management, to reduce the risk of wildfires caused by vegetation
interacting with energized transmission lines, and to reduce the
potential impact of wildfires on the transmission lines. Forest Service
authorizations, issued under 36 CFR 251.54, for Western's use of
National Forest System lands would need to be modified to accommodate
this proposal.
Purpose and Need for Agency Action
Western must ensure that it can safely and reliably operate and
maintain its existing electrical transmission facilities to deliver
electrical power. Western must ensure access to its transmission
facilities for maintenance and emergency response. Western must also
ensure that the costs associated with maintaining the transmission
system can be controlled in accordance with sound business principles.
Western must meet mandatory vegetation management standards in
accordance with section 1211 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and
industry standards. The vegetation management standards are designed to
ensure the safe and reliable operation of the transmission system.
To ensure that Western can safely, reliably, and cost-effectively
operate, maintain, and access its transmission system and implement
required vegetation management practices on lands managed by the FS,
Western needs to participate with the FS to evaluate options to renew
or modify Western's current authorizations.
Western's objectives for this proposal are to maintain its
transmission lines, ROW and access roads to:
Protect public and worker safety
Ensure power system reliability
Comply with current industry standards and mandatory
reliability standards
Achieve technical and economic efficiencies to minimize
impacts on transmission line tariff costs and electrical power rates
Reduce the risk of wildfires caused by vegetation growing
into or falling onto transmission lines
Reduce the risks to facilities from fires
Control the spread of noxious weeds
Ensure that Western's transmission facilities remain
operational for the useful life of the facility
Maintain flexibility to accommodate changes in
transmission system operation and maintenance requirements
Proposed Action
Western proposes to improve the way it manages vegetation along its
ROW on National Forest System lands in the states of Colorado, Utah,
and Nebraska. Not all areas of Western's ROW would require the proposed
changes to vegetation management. Vegetation management approaches
would vary along the ROW depending on site conditions and identified
risks to the transmission lines, and other factors. Over the life of
Western's facilities, proposed vegetation management changes would be
implemented in locations along its ROW where vegetation could interfere
with Western's ability to reliably operate and maintain the facilities.
In general, Western proposes to change its vegetation management
practices in the following manner:
Implement and then maintain vegetation conditions along
the ROW that reduce the risk to the transmission lines from vegetation-
caused interference with the maintenance and operation of the
transmission line. This could include establishing relatively stable
native vegetation that, at mature height, would not grow into
conductors, fall onto conductors or structures, or contribute to high
fuel loads.
Change from a largely reactive approach of cutting danger
trees with annual ROW re-entry cycles to a proactive approach that
incorporates integrated vegetation management. The objectives would be
to control vegetation that, at mature height, presents a risk to
transmission line maintenance and operation, and allow for longer ROW
re-entry intervals.
Reduce as necessary and manage the amount of fuel-loading
on the ROW to reduce the risk of transmission line-caused wildfires and
to reduce the potential impacts of wildfires to transmission lines and
structures.
Alternatives
Alternatives to Western's proposal include the no action
alternative. In this alternative, Western would continue its
maintenance according to past and current practices. Danger trees would
be managed as they are now using a reactive approach with annual re-
entry cycle to locate and cut danger trees. Other alternatives may be
identified based on public and agency comments.
Floodplain or Wetland Involvement
Since the proposed Project may involve action in floodplains or
wetlands, this NOI also serves as a notice of proposed floodplain or
wetland action, in accordance with 10 CFR 1022.12 (a). The EIS will
include a floodplain/wetland assessment and floodplain statement of
findings following DOE regulations for compliance with floodplain and
wetlands environmental review (10 CFR 1022).
Environmental Issues
The location of the proposal is on National Forest System lands in
Colorado, Utah, and Nebraska. National Forests in Colorado include the
Arapaho-Roosevelt, Grand Mesa-Uncompahgre-Gunnison, White River, Routt,
San Juan, and Pike-San Isabel. The project also includes the Nebraska
National Forest in Nebraska and the Ashley National Forest in Utah.
Western maintains approximately 300 miles of ROW in these forests. The
ROWs cross through a variety of vegetation communities at elevations
ranging from approximately 6,000 to 11,000 feet. The widths of the
transmission line ROW depend on the voltage of the line and typically
range from 75 to 175 feet. The EIS will evaluate impacts on a variety
of environmental resources that may occur along the approximately 4,000
total acres of ROW. The EIS will include design criteria and other
actions to avoid or minimize impacts. The EIS will also present the
results of compliance with other environmental regulations including
the Endangered Species Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Clean
Water Act, Clean Air Act and others.
Public Participation
Interested parties are invited to participate in the scoping
process to identify important issues to be analyzed in depth, and to
eliminate from detailed study issues that are not pertinent. The
scoping process will involve all interested agencies (Federal, State,
county, and local), Native American tribes, public interest groups,
businesses, affected landowners, and individual members of the public.
Western and the FS will consult with affected tribes to evaluate
and address the potential effects on cultural
[[Page 17915]]
resources, traditional cultural properties, or other resources
important to the tribes. These consultations will be conducted in
accordance with Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination
with Indian Tribal Governments (65 FR 67429), the President's
memorandum of April 29, 1994, Government-to-Government Relations with
Native American Tribal Governments (59 FR 22961), DOE-specific guidance
on tribal interactions, and applicable natural and cultural resources
laws and regulations.
The public is encouraged to provide information and comments on
issues it believes should be addressed in the EIS. Comments on the
scope of the EIS will be addressed by Western and the Forest Service.
Comments will be accepted at any time during the EIS process. Comments
received outside of the scoping period may be addressed in the draft
EIS if practicable, otherwise they will be addressed later in the
process, such as in the final EIS.
Western has set up a Web site at http://www.wapa.gov/transmission/Western-FS-EIS.htm to facilitate the distribution of project
information including meeting notices, project documents, schedules and
other information. The public will be able to obtain documents for
review from this Web site or request digital or hardcopies of documents
for review.
Western anticipates that the EIS process will take about 15 months,
and will include public scoping meetings; consultation and coordination
with appropriate Federal, State, county, and local agencies and tribes;
distribution of and public review and comment on the Draft EIS; a
formal public hearing on the Draft EIS; distribution of a Final EIS;
and publication of the Record of Decision in the Federal Register.
Responsible Officials
Western: Administrator; Forest Service: Rocky Mountain Regional
Forester.
Dated: March 24, 2010.
Timothy J. Meeks,
Administrator.
Dated: March 24, 2010.
Randall Karstaedt,
Acting Deputy Regional Forester.
[FR Doc. 2010-7724 Filed 4-7-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P